A dancing Chinese character is singing the words 'One World, One Dream' - and so the Beijing Olympics have started to assume a unique identity.
The 'Chinese Seal - Dancing Beijing' games logo was unveiled at a Zhang Yimou-directed ceremony at the historic Temple of Heaven in the south of Beijing, in the presence of 2008 guests.
The logo adopts a typical form of traditional Chinese art, combining Chinese characters, seal carving and calligraphy, and conveyed in the form of a seal. The Chinese character 'Jing' on the seal - the short form of Beijing - is modified to represent a dancing, triumphant human.
Red, the symbolic colour of China, is the dominant hue, while the font used was widely popular on bamboo carving in the Han Dynasty.
It was selected by a committee, comprising mainly Chinese and international artists and designers, out of 1,763 entries, almost 90 per cent of which came from China.
Guo Chunning, who came up with the original concept, said the finished product was a team effort among members of his design company, local artists and Bocog.
Zhang Wu, one of the design team, said: 'The logo unites the Olympic spirit and Chinese traditional culture. By associating it with the concept of a seal we intend to show that we Chinese have sealed our commitment to the games.